Thursday, August 14, 2008

Presto! It's Pesto!

Lots of the vegan food bloggers have been making pesto lately, and I wanted in on the fun! So last night, I whipped up a batch of Vegan with a VengeanceBasil Pesto:

Served over whole wheat spaghetti and white beans (for protein and yumminess), this meal really hit the spot. I bought a big batch of fresh basil (with this dish in mind) at the farmer's market last Saturday. Though I'm growing basil on my porch, there's not enough for pesto.

I also bought bulk walnuts for this dish last weekend at Wild Oats, but somehow I forgot why I bought them. So instead of saving them for the pesto, I snacked on them throughout the week. Some even found their way on top of Sheridan's birthday cupcakes (see post about that below).

So when it came time to make pesto, I realized I didn't have the 1/2 cup of walnuts the recipe called for. So I subbed some pecans with the walnuts (about 1/4 cup each), and the result was even more delicious than using plain walnuts.

I served this with a big ol' green salad of iceberg (I LOVE iceberg and I don't care if it's void of nutrients), carrots, cabbage, farmer's market tomatoes, local cucumbers, vegan bacon bits, and non-dairy ranch!

that's some awesome look'n pesto, Bianca! i like how you added the beans in for protein, and used whole wheat pasta, too (dan & i looooove whole wheat pasta). mmmmmmm! good to know that pecans in pesto = awesomeface! i'm going to try that soon - it's brilliant + tasty and that rocks the most!!

Great minds think alike...I just bought some basil the other day for a pesto sauce. Though when I got home, I realized I didn't have any pine nuts, walnuts, or pecans (good to know that works, too!). Your pasta looks yummy, and I LOVE your banana split cupcakes from a few posts ago!!!

Oh gosh, I am catching up with all your old posts-- the banana split cupcakes look to-die-for... as does that pesto dish, the sweet potato bread, the tofu/rice noodle dish, and basically everything else you've cooked up since I've been gone!

My name is Bianca ...

About Me

I'm a 9-year vegan, 19-year vegetarian from the Mid-South, not too far from the muddy banks of the Mississippi River. And that means cornbread, butter beans, and collard greens.
These days, I live in Memphis. Check out my cookbook — Cookin' Crunk. It's filled with yummilicious veganized soul food and country classics.